You can become a top performer by improving your time behaviors. Wouldn't it feel good to effectively handle your paperwork as it comes in? A good system is a first step.

Pick one set of paperwork that really feels out of control now. If you have a backlog of that paperwork set aside a time block when you can quickly go through it doing a fast sort. Sort the paperwork into piles for needs immediate attention, needs attention within the next 2 weeks, and
can be dealt with when I get to it.

This may be a hard thing for you as your first reaction is that everything needs immediate attention yet you also know that if it doesn't involve a life and death situation there is a time allowance. Plus if it truly were that urgent it wouldn't be in the pile in the first place.

Block out a time period each day to work through this immediate pile keeping up with any new immediate attention items that continue to be added.

Sort all new paperwork into one of these piles immediately when as it arrives.


Identify who/how someone else might help you with the needs attention within the next 2 weeks pile. Even though you may not be able to hire someone to do this work at the moment there are a lot of free and part-time options available.

As you continue working through your paperwork start noting what things are repetitious, what things require a very low level of skills, what things that aren't required to be handled by a licensed agent/advisor, etc. When you start to see a pattern and have a better idea of the time required to
complete these tasks you are prepared to start searching your options for outside help to delegate this busy work to.

There may be things your family could help you with, their may be things a high school student could help you with as an intern, their may be things a retired person would love to do just to
keep busy and feel important. Explore your options and delagate, delegate, delegate so you can spend your time on the things that put money in the bank.

Oh, by the way, when you get caught up with the needs immediate attention pile and have some one working on the needs attention within 2 weeks pile go back and sort through that when I have
time pile. This time sort with the intention of either putting it into one of the needs attention files, storing it for future reference in an appropriate file or throwing it out.

By
Cheryl A. Clausen
http://clicks.aweber.com/z/ct/?1zVfFQtSjuO2ceh9pam7tA

Pratibha Patil will become India's first woman president after winning a comprehensive election victory, Indian officials say.
Mrs Patil, 72, won nearly two-thirds of votes cast in state assemblies and in India's parliament, they said.

The former governor of the northern Indian state of Rajasthan described her win as "a victory of the people".

Mrs Patil's supporters say her election to the largely ceremonial role will be a boost to millions of Indian women.

"I am grateful to the people of India and the men and women of India and this is a victory for the principles which our Indian people uphold," the Reuters news agency quoted her as saying.

But correspondents say some of her critics have described her as a political lightweight.

Mrs Patil emerged as a surprise, last-minute candidate after left-wing parties in the Congress-led coalition opposed the Congress Party's first choice.

She was backed by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, but was mocked by opponents and by some sections of India's media.

Balancing role

Mrs Patil has courted controversy, recently telling a Muslim congregation that the veil was introduced to protect their women from Mughal invaders, a comment she later retracted.

She also faced allegations that a bank she helped set up gave out cheap loans to her relatives before it folded up.

The Congress Party has rejected those allegations and was highly critical of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led opposition candidate, Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, an 83-year-old party veteran.

The presidency is largely a ceremonial post, but plays a key role with a fragmented electorate often throwing up precariously placed coalition governments.

Around 4,500 MPs and state legislators were eligible to vote in the election.

Mrs Patil will succeed A P J Abdul Kalam, a popular missile scientist, as president.

There’s no doubt that our character has a profound effect on our future. What we must remember, however, is not merely how powerful character is in influencing our destiny, but how capable we are in shaping our own character and, therefore, our future. Character may determine our fate, but it is not determined by fate.

It’s a common mistake to think of character as something that is fully formed and fixed early in life. It calls to mind old maxims like "A leopard can’t change its spots" and "You can’t teach an old dog new tricks." This perspective that our character is etched in stone is supported by a great deal of modern psychology emphasizing self-acceptance. As Popeye says, "I am what I am." The hidden message is: Don’t expect me to be more, better, or different.

Ultimately, these views of humanity undervalue the lifelong potential for growth that comes with the power of reflection and choice. How depressing it would be to believe we can’t choose to be better -- more honest, more respectful, more responsible, more caring. None of us should give up the quest to improve our character. Not because we’re bad -- we don’t have to be sick to get better -- but because we’re not as good as we could be.

There are so many things in life we can’t control -- whether we’re beautiful or smart, whether we had good parents or bad, whether we grew up with affirmation or negation. It’s uplifting to remember that nothing but moral willpower is needed to make us better.

No, it isn’t easy. But if we strive to become more aware of the habits of heart and mind that drive our conduct, we can begin to place new emphasis on our higher values so we become what we want our children to think we are.

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

to read more visit www.CharacterCounts.org

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that on July 26-27 he will visit San Francisco, the birthplace of the United Nations. Organized in cooperation with the United Nations Association of the USA, the trip will provide the secretary-general with the opportunity to make his first official visit to a major US city outside of New York City and Washington, DC. “I look forward to broadening my conversation with the American people and their leaders about the critical role of the United Nations in our increasingly globalized world,” said the secretary-general.

The Secretary-General will be renewing his ties with California’s Bay Area, where he lived in the early 1960s as a young foreign exchange student. In fact, Mr. Ban will pay a visit to Mrs. Libba Patterson, a retired teacher who hosted him at her home in Novato, California during that time.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom will accompany the secretary-general on a tour of the War Memorial's Opera House and the Herbst theater, where the UN Charter was signed in 1945. Mr. Ban will meet with community leaders, including the presidents of local United Nations Association chapters.

As part of the trip, the secretary-general also plans to meet California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to discuss combating climate change, a priority issue for both leaders, and tour local businesses in the Bay Area using green technologies that can be applied worldwide. “I look forward to seeing first-hand how California leads the world on this issue of supreme importance,” said the secretary-general.

In addition to the secretary-general’s office and UNA-USA, several partners have collaborated on the coordination of the San Francisco visit. The Governor’s office and staff have been instrumental in organizing the details of the visit. Other partners include Mayor Newsom's office and the World Affairs Council of Northern California, which will be hosting a public conversation with the Secretary-General at the Fairmont Hotel on July 26. UNA-USA members in the area can purchase discounted tickets to this event.

We are very pleased to invite applications for the UN seminar on
GLOBAL TERRORISM. The participation fee for applications received
by 30th June is only 295 euros.

This official UN short course will be delivered on 24th and 25th
July at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia by Dr. Giovanni
Ercolani, UNITARPOCI Research Associate, drawing from his practical
defence experience at NATO Turkey during the 1990s.

This short course is designed to offer a basic introduction to the
complex topic of Global Terrorism. The lectures are organized into
three intensive two-hour meetings, in which the students will
receive a complete view of the following aspects related to
terrorism:

• The Phenomenon of Terrorists
• Nature and Matrices of Terrorism
• Profile of Terrorists and their Organisations
• Structure and Operating Tactics
• Protagonists and Geopolitical Areas
• Supporters and Criteria of Monitoring
• The Use of Force and Future Threats in Terrorism Worldwide
• Counter-terrorism, the UN and NATO

Successful participants will be awarded certificates from the United
Nations Institute for Training and Research. Transfer credit is
available.

Full details of this opportunity can be seen on our website at
www.academic-solutions.com Please note that space is limited to a
maximum of 20 participants.

I would be delighted to answer any queries about this UN seminar.

Ryan Lorenz
Director, Academic Solutions
ryan@academic-solutions.com

99 Great Russell Street
LONDON WC1B 3LA

Tel. 44-20-7419-9849
Fax 44-20-7813-3253

www.academic-solutions.com

Three-time African Footballer of the Year Samuel Eto'o of Cameroon and Brazilian great Pele delivered a special birthday gift to Nelson Mandela.

The two players are among 50 past and present international stars taking part in a football match — "90 Minutes for Mandela" — to mark the former South African president's 89th birthday today.

A smiling Mandela received an official shirt for the match with his name and number 89 on the back.

"I am deeply honoured to receive this tribute ... but it must always be remembered that I was one of many who fought for freedom from tyranny and racism," Mandela said.

The match, to be played in Cape Town, will pit an Africa side against a rest of the world team.

"I have met a lot of great personalities in my life but Nelson Mandela is an extraordinary person," Pele said.

"I am really touched and honoured to lead the Rest of the World team in his birthday match. I am a big admirer of what this man has achieved in his life."

Mandela praised football's world governing body, Fifa, for honouring the Makana Football Association, which was formed by political prisoners on Robben Island, where he was incarcerated for 18 of the 27 years he spent in jail.

Mandela watched games from his cell window until prison authorities built a wall to further cut him off.

Fifa vice president Jack Warner will confer honorary Fifa membership on the Makana association before Wednesday's match.

Mandela also discussed a number of topics, including the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, in a private meeting with the players as well as Fifa and local football representatives at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg.



http://www.newnigeriannews.com/sports_1.htm

A man eventually succeeds taking a very beautiful girl for a lunch after several attempts. More than a month, the guy has been chasing her while he has been receiving the same respones, "please I don't have the time and wouldn't like to spoil your life desire." Now sitting nearer to the girl, he held her hands and asked, " I have longed for this moment ever since i set my eyes on you,why do you aviod me with that excuse" The girl replied, " i live for the unfortunates that needs aids and so, I will be a drag in a relationship. "The mention of the word "aids" scared the man to death and he withdraw his hands as quickly as he could. " I'm sorry you found yourself in this, what a curel world" he said silently cursing whosoever that must have infected this young charming lady with the dreaded disease.
For months he avioded her and the girl who had fallen in love was confused at this change of heart. A year later the girl got married and the young man was asking a friend why on earth anybody would marry her whereas she had aids. The friend was shocked and asked what he meant by that. "She confessed she lives for the aids when I was trying to date her" The friend laughted and told him that Ifeoma worked with an organ of United Nation that cater for the needy especially war victims. They gives aids: that is relief materials and emotional support to them. The man cried out, "see what English has done to me o! .

It’s both a strength and a weakness of human nature that we’re never satisfied for long. Whatever we have, wherever we are, most of us want more and better. When focused on money or power, our insatiability can turn into happiness-crushing greed, avarice, and obsessive ambition.

But in other areas of life, our desire for more and better can be a good thing. For example, in business we should continually strive for improvement and innovation. When assessing the quality of education or health care, government integrity or efficiency, or the general state of social justice, we should never be satisfied. In our personal lives, we should strive for better relationships by improving communications and organizing our lives better. And there’s nothing wrong with wanting a better job, one that’s more intellectually challenging, emotionally rewarding, financially remunerative, and socially significant.

To live and enjoy a good life, we need to find a healthy balance between wanting more and appreciating enough. You see, it’s possible to realize that what we have is worthy of gratitude and appreciation, even as we strive for more.

Not being satisfied doesn’t have to be the same as being dissatisfied. Dissatisfaction is a negative state of mind. It’s a form of unhappiness. Thus, it’s important to find a comfortable place between satisfaction and dissatisfaction. That place can be the state of contentment marked by true appreciation of what one has and the ability to enjoy it.

In the progression of good, better, and best, better and best are superior to good. But good is still good. Enough can be good.

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

for more info, visit www.CharacterCounts.org

"Two wrongs don’t make a right."

Most of us heard this axiom of ethics during childhood whenever we tried to dodge blame or punishment by bringing up someone else’s misconduct. For example, when accused of lying, the child either points out that his brother told a bigger lie last week or accuses his accuser of lying in the past.

In rejecting attempts to divert attention from and dilute responsibility for our actions, our parents were instilling a vital moral message: Each of us must be judged on and held accountable for our behavior, regardless of what others may have done.

A similar basic rule of ethics underlies the popular parental observation: "I don’t care what Nancy’s mom lets her do, you are not going out dressed like that."

Sadly, these childhood lessons about accountability are often ignored by adults who passionately defend themselves or others with emotionally appealing but logically irrelevant and morally inconsequential diversionary arguments.

Paris Hilton’s defenders claimed she shouldn’t be punished for driving on a suspended license since the city attorney’s wife also did so.

Defenders of President Bush’s decision to commute Scooter Libby’s prison sentence point to ethically dubious pardons issued by President Clinton.

And, not surprisingly, scores of people convicted of obstruction of justice are using the Libby commutation to justify leniency in their cases. Paris Hilton’s sentence, President Bush’s commutation, and the propriety of each sentence imposed by a judge in an obstruction of justice case should be judged on their own merits.

Lady Justice is depicted wearing a blindfold because law and logic are to be administered objectively in a manner that ignores the identity, affiliations, or power of individuals being judged as well as the prejudices and preferences of those doing the judging.

It takes a disciplined mind to identify and ignore red herring arguments designed to distract us from honestly and objectively assessing each event.

And it takes character to apply our principles consistently, especially when it means accepting personal responsibility or acknowledging wrongdoing in those we support.

If you suffer from procrastination a good time management strategy for you is to make procrastination enemy number one in your life. Procrastination deprives you of satisfaction, success, and happiness. It causes unnecessary stress, frustration, and pressure in your life. Procrastination is the biggest unnecessary and controllable time waster that exists. So how do you know if you are a procrastinator, and what do you do about it if you are?

If you are a procrastinator, you have probably made procrastination a life-long habit. Your time management strategy is never do today what you can put off until tomorrow. You don’t even start something until it’s almost impossible to complete the project by the deadline. When you finally make the commitment to take action you are a whirl of activity and you don’t allow anyone or anything to interrupt you because you have a deadline to meet. If your time management strategy was to approach all your projects with that level of fury and commitment from the moment you were first aware of the project you would have it done far in advance of the deadline and could move on to other things without having to deal with all that unnecessary stress.

Your negative attitude may be the cause or source of your procrastination. Your attitudes drive your behaviors and your behaviors drive your results, so if a negative attitude is fueling your procrastination including affirmations in your time management strategy is a good plan. Affirmations are positive statements about your ability to do the task at hand, the value of the project, the speed with which you can complete the project etc. All re-enforcing the positive impact of successfully completing the project on time or even ahead of time in your life.

Have you ever found that sometimes you procrastinate because of your fear of failure? This one may not be one that you openly admit to yourself, but if you start thinking back to the times you didn’t follow up with a potential client or didn’t submit your work so it could be considered for an award or whatever you have put off in the past you may realize that part of you didn’t want to get things completed because of your fear of what might happen if you failed. A time management strategy for you is to ask yourself what the potential outcomes are when you take the action you are supposed to take, and then make sure you are comfortable with those outcomes.

The opposite of fear of failure is fear of success. Your fear of success can be another reason for your procrastination. You may worry what others will think of your new found success. As part of your time management strategy you may want to explore the impact of succeeding and prepare yourself for the consequences.

Do you find that its hard to complete things because they’re just never quite good enough? Perfectionism can really get in your way. Recognize that perfectionism can never be achieved and that you can only do your best. It is a better time management strategy to just do something than to just keep putting it off. Zig Zigglar is frequently quoted as having said, “anything worth doing is worth doing poorly”. Perhaps his advice is something for you to take to heart.

Do you ever find yourself just stuck because you aren’t quite sure how to handle the task at hand? Yet, as you think about when you were in those situations in the past, when you finally got started did you find that it wasn’t as hard as you thought it would be? Whether you think it will be hard or if you get stuck working on the project a good time management strategy is to reach out quickly and get the help you need rather than just hoping you will somehow be able to work through it on your own.

Two 16-year-old students from London have been arrested in Ghana allegedly carrying £300,000 of cocaine.
The drugs were said to have been found on the girls at Accra airport by Ghanaian Narcotic Control Board officers while trying to board a plane.

The officers were taking part in Operation Westbridge with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

It is aimed at stopping traffickers getting drugs into the UK and Europe through the West African country.

Operation Westbridge follows the success of Operation Airbridge, a joint initiative between the UK and Jamaica to catch couriers carrying Class A drugs in their bodies, before they board planes from the island.
Tony Walker, leading the operation for HMRC, said the alleged use of such young girls as couriers "vividly illustrates the ruthlessness of the criminal drug gangs involved in this traffic".

Mr Walker added: "The Westbridge collaboration between Ghana and the UK is delivering real results in this and other cases by helping to protect both countries from the violence and corruption that always accompanies the trade in illegal drugs."

In the operation, which was launched last November, HMRC officers give technical and operational expertise to the Ghanaian government which includes training in the use of Foreign Office-funded scanning equipment.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are aware of the arrest of two British national minors on 2 July at Accra airport. "Next of kin have been informed and we are providing full consular assistance."

She said the Foreign Office was unable to confirm any personal details due to the girls' ages.

HMRC confirmed the teenagers were arrested at Accra airport on 2 July, allegedly carrying an estimated £300,000 worth of cocaine.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6294916.stm

When we hear the term character education, we usually think of the responsibility and opportunity of parents and primary school teachers to teach young children the difference between right and wrong and to inspire them to choose what is right.

But what about older children, young adults, and mature professionals? Is there a time when a person’s character has been formed, when the clay, so malleable in early youth, hardens like stone and character education becomes futile? Lots of people think so, not only about other people but about themselves.

While working to integrate ethical decision-making strategies into police and military academies, I’ve seen conclusive evidence that this notion of a fully developed or fixed character is not only wrong, it’s wasteful. Character development is a lifelong process, and all people have the capacity to be better today than they were yesterday.

Police and military academies explicitly recognize that good moral character is as vital as competence. While they try to select only young people of sterling character, they don’t leave it at that. A large portion of their training is designed to instill or enhance moral qualities associated with good character -- and it works.

It’s not that hard either. Guided discussions, simulations, and supervised field experiences all can be used to generate attitudes and habits that make new officers more diligent, thorough, and accurate; more committed to honesty; better able to control negative impulses; more willing to treat people -- even ones they don’t like -- with respect; and more likely to summon the moral courage to do the right thing even when it may be personally costly. This is high-level character education.

What about you? Are you as good as you will ever be?

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

To receive my commentaries by e-mail at no charge, visit www.CharacterCounts.org.

STATEMENT BY
H.E. SHEIKHA HAYA RASHED AL KHALIFA
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
AT THE FOLLOW-UP MEETING

"FINANCING DEVELOPMENT TO ACHIEVE THE MDGs"

DOHA, QATAR
17 JUNE 2007

I would like to thank His Highness Sheikh Hamed bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir of the State of Qatar for hosting this important event and for his generous hospitality. I would also like to thank His Excellency Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs; in particular, for his continuous support to the United Nations General Assembly and for convening this conference. Allow me to also express my personal gratitude to His Excellency Ahmad Bin Abdullah Al-Mahmoud, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and everyone that has helped to organize this event.

May I also thank all the participants for coming to Doha – Ministers, experts and distinguished delegates; in particular, those from the Least Developed Countries; and, the United Nations Development Programme and the Department for Economic and Social Affairs for their contribution towards the preparations for this meeting.

Excellencies,

The internationally agreed Millennium Declaration, the Millennium Development Goals, and other internationally agreed development goals, and the outcomes of the 2002 Monterrey Financing for Development Conference and the 2005 World Summit have made an unprecedented contribution to focusing attention and galvanizing action around one of the greatest challenges of our time: the global fight against poverty and the promotion of human development for all.

In many regions good progress has been made on some of the Goals, but Sub-Saharan Africa is not on track to achieve any of the Goals. Even the best governed countries have not been able to make sufficient progress.

However, there are positive signs of economic growth in Africa; a reduction in civil conflicts; stronger domestic investment; greater transparency and more democracy.

But this progress remains fragile. Essential investment is required in agriculture, health, education and infrastructure in order to fight poverty and sustain job creation and economic growth.

We now have a crucial window of opportunity: we have reached the midpoint to the target date for achieving the MDGs in 2015 and there is a desperate need to accelerate progress.

Our ability to deliver on our promises – partner and donor countries – is also reflection of our commitment to effective multilateralism, and building greater trust among the global community.

Over the next couple of days I hope we can exchange views on the progress made so far to and identify those obstacles that threaten the achievement of the MDGs.

I would like to set the scene for the debate by taking stock of where we are and the challenges ahead. Our emphasis must be on partnership. The MDGs will only be achieved if partner countries, traditional and emerging donors, the private sector and civil society are fully engaged.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the beginning of the 21st century, a global family that is more interdependent than ever before. We also have the capacity and resources available to make sure that each member of the family is lifted out of poverty.

But in terms of development financing; aid dropped from US$106 billion in 2005 – a record high due to debt relief operation to Iraq and Nigeria – to US$104 billion in 2006. This represents a drop in real terms of 5.1%.

Excluding debt relief, Official Development Assistance (ODA) fell by 1.8% in real terms. Aid to sub-Saharan Africa, excluding debt relief, was static in 2006, leaving a challenge to meet the Gleneagles G8 summit commitment to increase aid by US$50 billion, and double aid to Africa by 2010.

Preliminary data shows that bilateral net ODA to sub-Saharan Africa rose by 23% in real terms, to about USD 28 billion. However, most of the increase was due to debt relief grants. Excluding debt relief for Nigeria, aid to sub-Saharan Africa increased by only 2%.

To meet existing commitments by the 2010 target aid will have to increase substantially in 2007 and 2008 through manageable increases. According to the OECD the present rates of increase in core development programmes will have to triple over the next four years to fulfill donor pledges.

However, we should also recognize that sixteen of the OECDs Development Assistance Committee’s 22 member countries met the 2006 targets for ODA that they set at the 2002 Monterrey Conference on Financing for Development.

And, at present the only countries to reach or exceed the United Nations target of 0.7% of GNI were Sweden, Luxembourg, Norway, the Netherlands and Denmark. Though many others have set timetables to reach this by 2015.

Excellencies,

In addition to the quantity of aid, there also needs to be quality.

For aid to be effective each partner country needs to determine its own priorities, the pace and sequencing of reforms. National ownership and channeling aid through better use of national budgets is key.

Many partner countries have voiced concerns over the slow pace of change in donor practices as set out in the Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness. Transaction costs are too high for many. In 2005 for example, 34 developing countries received over 10,500 donor missions; more than one for each working day.

Both partner countries and donors need to make better use of performance assessment frameworks and clearly definable development results.

The true test of aid effectiveness is the improvement in people’s lives. And in this area there is much more to be done.

For example, women account for two thirds of the 1.2 billion people living in extreme poverty. And two thirds of the world’s illiterate are women. And, in some countries, pregnancy and childbirth kill a woman every minute –- they die with no trained midwife or doctor to help.

270 million children worldwide have no access to healthcare, and four million children die each year in the first month of their short life. However, under five mortality rates have dropped, but not quickly enough to achieve the Child Mortality Goal.

Every year more than half a million women die needlessly from complications in pregnancy or child birth. That's almost one woman every minute.

We live in a world where each year malaria kills one million people, tuberculosis two million people, AIDS three million people. Every human life lost is a tragedy.

HIV infections are up to six times higher for young women than men, in Sub-Saharan Africa; and, by the end of the day 5000 more young women will be infected with HIV/AIDS,

In education, we are not on course to achieve equal enrolment of girls and boys by 2015, and net enrolment worldwide may only be around 87 per cent.

While globally we will meet the poverty reduction goal, there’s a huge challenge in Africa, which saw absolute poverty rise in the last decade.

The situation is worse in countries affected by conflict, which receive less aid but contain a higher proportion of the worlds poorest.

Almost two in three people lack access to clean drinking water. Close to half the population in developing countries suffer from health problems caused by poor water and sanitation. And, every day dirty water and inadequate sanitation kills 6,000 children.

To meet the water target we need to bring additional clean water to 300,000 people every day for the next decade.

Excellencies,

All of these challenges are taking place in a rapidly globalizing world.

The current global economic outlook is being driven by buoyant growth in emerging economies, as well as favorable financial conditions. Globally developing countries now account for over 40 per cent of GDP – on a purchasing power parity basis; over 30 per cent of manufacturing exports; and, over one third of Foreign Direct Investment.

By 2010, 733 million more people in the developing world will be of working age. Many of them will migrate, internally and abroad, in search of a better life.

Within three decades, the urban populations of Africa, Asia and Latin America will double to nearly four billion human beings, putting an additional strain on basic services. Some countries are trading more, and are benefiting from and helping to create rising global prosperity, while others are being left behind. The stalled Doha Round was meant to address this. Concluding Doha could help to lift 140 million people out of poverty.

Climate change has the potential to cause untold damage.

In sub-Saharan Africa, a third of men, women and children are already malnourished. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that between 75 and 250 million people will be exposed to increase water stress. Higher temperatures and shorter rainy seasons could mean that food production is reduced by a fifth, making more people even hungrier and even poorer.

Excellencies,

We do face huge challenges, but we should take hope from the progress that is being made.

In the past 40 years, life expectancy in the developing world increased by a quarter. In the past 30 years, illiteracy has fallen by half. In the past 20 years, 400 million people lifted out of absolute poverty. Smallpox has been eradicated, and we are nearly there with polio.

In 2005, the world came together and agreed to do more. The Millennium Summit, the Commission for Africa, the G8 and the Global Call to Action Against Poverty. Donor countries agreed $50 billion extra in aid, with $25 billion to Africa, by 2010. And, new targets for access for all to AIDS treatment by, free basic education and health care.

The debt of 20 countries has been fully cancelled, over $81 billion, helping some to provide free health care and to build new classrooms.

The US$ 4 billion International Finance Facility for Immunization has been established to help save the lives of an additional 5 million children over the next decade.

At the fist thematic debate of the General Assembly in November 2006, the Islamic Development Bank announced US$10bn of new finance for the MDGs.

In 2007, the UAE announced a US$10 fund to improve access and the quality of education in the Muslim world.

In Germany, G8 leaders recommitted to increase development assistance and announced an additional US$60 to fight Aids, Malaria and Tuberculosis.

Some Africa countries are demonstrating progress towards the MDGs is possible when strong government leadership and good policies are combined with adequate financial and technical support from the international community.

Recent examples include:

Malawi’s doubling of agricultural productivity during in one year growing season through a voucher programme for fertilizers and seeds.

Ghana is successfully implementing a national school feeding programme using locally produced foods.

Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and many other countries have abolished fees for primary schools resulting in dramatic increases in enrolment during the space of a few years.

In 2006, Zambia cancelled fees for basic rural health services and Burundi introduced free medical care for mothers and children.

Many African governments, with growing donor support, are now taking to national scale the lessons of the Millennium Villages – that local leadership and a combination of interventions can transform poor communities in a short period of time.

Excellencies,

In partnership, we have made progress in a number of areas.

We may not have made poverty history, but we are making progress. The challenge for all of us is to make good on our commitments and work in closer partnership. This includes the commitment to good governance and additional development finance.

Development doesn’t happen without effective states, capable of delivering services to their citizens and helping economies to grow. States that respond to peoples’ needs and which, in turn, can be held to account.

Social justice, human rights and gender equality is critical to economic prosperity.

This is why partnerships with civil society, NGOs, the media and private sector have such an important role in achieving the MDGs. Over the past decade the civil society organizations have become important global player in development contributing over US$10 billion in global oda.

The private sector is critical for generating jobs and higher wages, allowing higher public spending on basic services such as education and health.

The ultimate test of achieving our shared goals will be about how we manage sustainable development in this world of population growth, rapid urbanization, scarce natural resources, and climate change.

But most of all, if the MDGs are to be achieved, it is critical that both developing and developed countries work to live up to their respective commitments.

If developing countries adopt comprehensive national strategies - and implement them for the benefit of all citizens - then developed countries and emerging donors must deliver on commitments to provide additional resources to enable these strategies to succeed.

Donors need to accelerate their plans to scale up assistance, to maintain the credibility of their 2005 pledge to double aid, in particular to Africa by 2010. Moreover, donors need to issue country-by country timelines for how they are going to increase aid, so partner governments can plan for essential investments and prepare supporting macroeconomic frameworks.

Developing countries need to develop credible long term investment plans, strengthen good governance and continue to fight corruption.

Despite the lack of progress towards the MDGs, the Goals remain achievable even in most African countries. Yet time is running out to make the needed practical investments. Existing commitments made and reaffirmed by world leaders at the G8 Summit in Gleneagles and the 2005 World Summit are sufficient to meet the Goals. At the midway point of 2007, these commitments must be urgently translated into practical plans with systematic follow-through by all parties.

This global partnership for development is a compact.

Excellencies,

When poverty is so immediate and the suffering so intense, the world has a moral and strategic obligation, to address the concerns of the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly in Africa.

The President of the United States, John Kennedy once warned us that if in a free society cannot help the many who are poor; it cannot save the few who are rich.

Each of us here today has a responsibility for delivering their share of the commitments we have promised, or, holding others to account.

We must remember that these commitments are endorsed by world leaders, and I quote;

“We, Heads of State and Government….. strongly reiterate our determination to ensure the timely and full realization of the Millennium Development Goals….. We underline the need for urgent action on all sides”. End quote.

I hope that our discussions today can cement our ongoing partnership and pave the way for new ones, in the spirit of achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

Thank you.